Machine for compressing and loading articles of flat form



J uIy Z, 1935. P. D. PARSONS MACHINE FOR COMPRESSING AND LOADING ARTICLES OF FLAT FO RM Filed July 50, 1952 4 Sheets-Sheet l SOTSU- 04 Harri a July 2, 1935. P, D, PARSONS Q I 2,006,511

MACHINE FOR COMPRESSING AND LOADING ARTICLES OF FLAT. FORM Filed ,July 30, 1932 4 Sheets-Sheet 2 A 2 1n vemo/a Phil/,0 Q Parsons.

04 Home July 2, 1935. P. D. PARSONS MACHINE FOR GOMPRESSINGAND LOADING ARTICLES OF FLAT FORM Filed July 30, 1952 4 Sheets-Sheet 3 I 1 l l l Inrenfor Phil! 0. Parsons \flffarqey- P. D. PARSONS July 2, 1935.

MACHINE FOR COMPRESSING AND LOADING ARTICLES OF FLAT FORM Filed July 30, 1932 4 Sheets-Sheet 4 I/IVE/7f0/1 P/N/Ip 0. 1 /60/78.

df/orney.

Patented July 2, 1935' I- UNITED STATES *PATENTrOFFICE 1;

MACHINE FOR, COMPRESSI'NG-AND' LOAD- I ING ARTICLES OFFLAT. a Philip D.'Parsons, SwarthmorefPa, assignor to Q Scott .Paper' Company, fa corporation of Pennsylvania i fapniieatien July 30,; 1932, seal No. es'asz I *1 pl nes." (craze-14) I a The general object of my invention'is'totpr'ocartong'the packi o t w being d ne vide means for commercially subdividing and a e ly to each Side Of theirplaee of p o folding paper webs into such form that they may t being done by a reciprocatin packer lad be severed transversely into rectangular'folded arranged for alternate y pa the successive 5 structures for use as towels, napkins, etc. wand weblengthsde d byithe severing evices 75 which may be further automatically operated fi t i Onedireetion d t i e, Ot -J upon for grouping the finished articles intospaced M pr s i v i incorporates f r relation so that the same may be deliver'edinto f om h aforesaid p e i r h y relate separate cartons to constitute separate packages; to Web foldin v c both si and in ultip e.

l0 and thearticles included in the package may be he O p of the maehine is to e in r a d automatically countedtoinsure each package rebut more parti ula y relates t0 t final handling ceiving the predetermined requisite number or of e ful y f m d w l d ap s oth articles. articles in respect to theseparate package assem- Heretofore, I havepro-vided means for maki g 'bla'ges of said. articles for'convenient disposition paper towels and articles of that character from in cartons or packages i the pr p q ti s, l5

' chine and transversely severed into short lengths secondip t fi f o mly spaced blades paper webs and, at the same time, Separating the d it s to the compressing and ad m ans articleso produced into separated quantities for Such a a e a y nve tion relates. whereby they may be successively assembled into sezsp eeial improvements embodythe' p oyindividual packages. Prior patents of minefor mentlofzpr pellers of worm-lik on uc i n in 39 means for making paper, articles, such as towels, Cooperation With Package separatingand coun rare the followingz- Patent No. 1,433; l48 dated i s devi s, h pr p ller b i p ra y ma October 24, 1922, discloses a-machine for folding up Of three distinct-Worms Ofdifierent p e a single webupon itself while being'fedi'na subfirst pitch b n flared to enablethetowels t -b stantially horizontal manner through the madrawn into the prop eenveyer; the Worm of 5 to form what is' technicallyknown in the 'trade i Which three Sets, Of tOWeISaI'e nfin as at; fold towel. The machine of this patent, carried alongthe pa Section, nd t etthilid furthermore, feeds the completed towels into. pitch consistingof wide openings to createa-sepaseparate groups or quantities to provide the proper ration of. the towels in order to permit uitab 39 number of towels to be placed in each of the sepa flngermeehahism e i ti separate cartons or packages. The impr'overelation between'ev ry ne hu d d fi y ments comprises in the machine ofsaid Patent (1 50) itowelsfioryother predetermined n ber); No. 1,433,148 consist of means for supporting a the construction being such that the separation roll of paper, means comprising formers for of the successive package assemblage of towels folding the paper into the desired form, suitable .Will permit the entrance of a suitable cam pres '35 power driven means including friction rolls for sure bladewhich carries the paper packages'to causing the paper to be fed through said machine the carton loading compartment. t and including cutting mechanism capable of Referringtothe drawings: Fig. 1 isadiagramsevering the folded paper into predetermined matic end viewofelements of my improved appa- 40 lengths, and means to deliver the folded-paper .ratus illustrating the successive stages of treat- .40

towels in "assembled and preferably. counted :ment offthe paper during the forming of the batches. I 1 individualitowels 1 and also illustrating a portion My Patent No. 1,553,955 dated September of the assemblage and packing-of the towels in 1925, sets out'a modified form of the original. the receivingxcartons; Fig. 2ti's a diagrammatic machine set out in my Patent No. [1,433,148 refrontaview'of-the upper portion of the mechanism 45 t V ferred to, differing therefromin splitting a wide .illjustratedi-n Fig; 1; Fig.3 is an elevation of that paper web into narrower webs and separately foldportion of theapparatus embodying my invention "ing said narrow webs into multi-ply webs by suiti by means ot which the paper towels'as formed able folding means or formers, means for bringing are fed to amean's for receiving. and packingthe 59 towel structures in sets of three, means'forassem- :same withinthe cartons; Fig. 4 is a plan viewof 59 bling the towels into groupings, whereby certain the mechanism of Fig. 3 with a'diagrammatic 'ofthe web lengths (at intervals) are held at a illustration of means for operating the elements higher elevation than the -intermediate web for' receiving and packing. the same withinthe lengths to indicate a given number of web lengths :cartonsnlig. Bis a plan view of the former and 5 to constitute a packageand-to be fed into. a embosser mechanism; Fig. 6 is a side view of;the

same; Fig. '7 is a cross section on line 1-1 of Fig. 6; Fig. 8 is a side elevation of the mechanism for assembling and packing the towels in cartons; Fig. 8a is a detail thereof; Fig. 9 is a vertical section on line 99 of Fig. 4; Fig. 10 is a perspective view of one of the completed towels; and Fig. 11 is an enlarged fragmentary and partial sectional view showing details of the propeller mechanism.

The illustrating of my improvements by schematic diagrams indicating the successive operations required in producing the towels and enclosing them in suitable cartons has been followed as being the most efiective. manner of illustrating the correlation between the operativeparts.

While Fig. 8 is more particularlydirected to the means for receiving the separate towels as made and assembling them in predetermined numbers and thereafter causing them to be introduced into cartons to constitute commercial packages, the preliminary steps involving the making of the towels'from a parent roll'of paper are more fully disclosed in Figs. '1' andi2 and thereby insure a preliminary treatment of the paper web be'fore the assemblage and packaging of the finished towels. I will first refer to the devices and mechanism illustrated in Figs. 1 and 2.

Q represents the parent roll of absorbent paper suitable for use in towelling; This web of paper passes over a spring supported roller 23, thence under an idler guide r011 thence in contact with a crowned idler roll 25 and subjected to the pullcreated by three rolls 20 which are'positively driven. From the pull rolls 20, the paper web is next guided over a steel hardened guide roll 3| and upon which the paper web is slit by slitter knives 2| while beingpressed in firm contact therewith by rubber rolls 22. rolls, spring roll "23 takes up anyunevenness in the'paper web, the crowned roll 25 removes any wrinkles which may occur in the web, while the pull rolls 20 impart a positive pull to the web and measure the requisite amountof paper which is to be delivered to the forming devices. The rubber rolls 22 are frictionally driven by contact through the paper web with the drivenroll 3| which insures the'paper web'running straight when such rubber rolls are properly adjusted. The slitter knives 2| are constructed to trim the ends and to slit the paper to divide it into a plurality of separate webs (preferably three in number). 7 The trimmings from the outer edges of the web at the time it"is' being subdivided are blown through suitable pipes A by blower A.

The three separate webs '0, c, c," are next guided over guide roll 32 and thence downward over separate formers I; The webs c then respectively pass between idler rolls 2 which guide the folded webs through the embossing and-creasing rolls 3 and 26 arranged in pairs." Thefolded webs then respectively pass through the formers 4 which fold the tabs over the body portion. The folded paper isthen of a construction which is known in the-j trade as a C fold towel. specific construction-of these formers will be betterunderstood by reference to Figs. 5,6 and 7 These formers may be similar to those shown in my aforesaid Patent No. 1,433,148.

The folded webs after leaving. the formers 4 are pulled downward by rolls 5 -an' d fed into guide plates 6, then through'a set of knurled tension drivenpull'rolls 1 which press the'three folded webs upon each other. The tension driven pull rolls '1 positively feed theasseinbled webs downward between the double-knife severing .Of these various The cylinders 8 which may be of any ordinary construction and are driven at a speed which assures the right length of towel.

As the towels pass from the severing rolls, they are received between knurled pull rolls 9, a portion of one of which is cut away to permit freedom of towel against pulling duringperiod of cutting. Guides Iii may be arranged between the cutting rolls 8 and the feed or delivery rolls 9 to guide the towels during their descent from the cutting rolls and to the knurled pull rolls.

When-the paper webs in folded condition, as finished towels, have reached the state in which they are required to be counted and placed in cartons, each of which cartons or packages contains a predetermined number of towels (one hundred and fifty, for example), the means for doing this consists of the following instrumentalities:-The towels, in sets of three, are fed vertically downward by the knurled rolls 9 and are received between two sets of worm-like propellers ll, each setbeing of three such wormlike devices positively rotating upon horizontal axes,; and the, two sets rotating in opposite directions, so that their propelling action is to feed the towels in the same direction and at substantially the'same speeds. These worm-like propellers are all similar and the two sets have their blades respectively right and left-handed.

The propellers are made with blades Ha so formed as to provide three: different pitches, as

,will be seen by reference to Fig. 8.

The propellers may be rotated by anysuitable means, that shown comprising mitre gears lld, one set being driven in a right handed direction by transmission'means He and the other in a left handed direction by means i if. Any other suitable manner of driving these two sets of propellers may be employed if so desired, keeping in mind that for every revolution of the propellers, the web should be fed downward the length of one towel.

The blades [lb of the propellers which first receive the towels have a large pitch and so shaped as to give a very wide lead, whereby the .towels, in sets of three, freely pass into the spaces between the blades of thetwo sets. This insures the towels passing into the custody of the propellers andavoids all danger from clogging. The middle bladesofthe propellers are of uniform and relatively small pitch, and there are preferaby one third as many blades as there are towels to constitute a package or required for a carton, that is to say, if the number of towels to each carton is one hundred and fifty (150), there will be fifty helical teeth or blades.

The delivery ends of the propellers are provided with blades Hc each having a Wide pitch,

approximately the pitch at the receiving end,

'as shown. Inthis case, however, there is a relatively wide lead and large pitch to enable the towels to feed from the middle blades of small pitch into the delivery blades of large pitch and 'wide lead. This wide lead at the delivery end of the propellers permitsthe successive sets of towels to separate and enable laterally movable separating fingers i2 to enter between the towels and separate them into packs of one hundred and fifty (150) towels each, to be delivered into the cartons ll. 1

' The separating fingers are shown at i2 in Fig. 4, and ready to advance between two sets of towels shortly before they leave the propellers and approximately when the towels reachthe widepitch blades on the delivery end of the rotating proagooasri 'pellers. These separting fingers'lz are hinged uponaverticalaxis I2a on a slide ,I2b and reciprotatedthereby longitudinally upon a slide I relatively to the propellers and also in turn movable toward and from the propellers upon a fixed guide I2'd. When the separating a ga'pwill be made between the towels to-form separate packages; and as this separation takes place just beyond the discharging end of the propellers and in line with the compresser blade I3, the latter may be introduced to constitute a compresser for the towels. I The compresser blade is hinged to one end of parallel links I3a, said links hinged at their other ends to a slide I31) movable longitudinally on guide I parallel to the propellers during the act of compression. After the separating fingers I2 have performed their function of permitting the. introduction of the com presser blade into compressing position and beginning its functioning, the separating fingers back out and return to their normal position,

ready to enter between the next set of one'hlun dred and fifty (150) towels to be compressed'and those'being delivered by the propellers.

I have, in a broad way, referred to the movements of mechanism which operate the separat- -ing fingers and associated parts, and will now describe thesame more in detail. Cam mechanism G of any suitable character is arranged for operating the various levers and arms which insure the timed movements of the separating fingers I2, the compresser I3, and the pack pusher I4, More specifically, the separating fingers I2 are reclprocated toward and from the propellers by reciprocating slide I20 under the action of the lever in, link 12g, and rocker arm I Zf'actuated' by cam mechanism G. The movement of the separating fingers longitudinally of the propellers I I and at the speed of travel commensurate'with the movement of the" towels through the propellers, is assured by the lever I2h (linked to slide I2b), and cam mechanism G. The opening and closing of the hinged separating fingers I2 is] accomplished by a springv I21 to normally cause the fingers to close upon themselves and a pivotedarm I27 and cam I We to oppose the spring when opening the fingers. When the slide I2c moves the arm I27 in contact'with cam I270 the I39, link I36 and horizontally inovable slidef I3f,

said slidejoperating one ofthe links liia acting as a crankarm for moving the'blade I3 toward and from the. fingers I2 when separated. r

When the towels are being compressed by the 'compres'ser blade I3, they are forced into a compression chamber at the end of the runway I9 over which the bottom edges of the towel pack slide. When the pack is compressed, a pusher l4 pushes the same between two loading bladesIS,

which are then swung outwardly about axisIIia,

with the package of towels I6 between said blades.

Atthis time a carton I1 is slipped over the blades I5, and the towelsthen pushed into itby action of the ejector I5. After the package is ejected,

the loading blades and ejector return to normal fingers I2 pass between two sets of'towels and open as shown in Fig.- 4,

.sion.

position foraction upon the next 'succeeding towel assemblage. r I The-means for operating these'parts I4, I5, I5 and. I! are shown in Figs. 3, 4 and 8,-in which the pusher l4 isreciprocated for the purposeof i pushing the compressed package of towels from the compression chamber forwardinto the space between theloading blades I 5 which at that time are arranged vertical as shown in Fig. 3. When the towels have been thus transferred to theloading blades, the latter is swung about the pivot -I So into an obliqueposition as indicated in dotted lines in Fig. 3. This movement of the loading bladesabout the pivot I511 is caused bythe rod lib. and cam mechanism G. blades are thus adjusted to the oblique position shown, the carton' I1 is placed over the loading blades and the ejector plunger I5 is forced downward in an oblique direction andbetween the loading blades, with the result-that the towels are pushed from'between the loading blades into the carton. The movement of this ejector plunger is "caused to take place by the rod I 5c being reciprocated by the lever I5d and 'cam-mecha'- nism G. I e

. While I do not restrict myself to any particular details in respect to the construction of the formers for folding the paper'webs, nevertheless, I show in Figs. 5, 6 and 7 the preferred construction, especially for folding the web with the two tabs-on the same side of the body in the C shaped form before referred to, but it is manifest that When the loading the tabs may be folded on opposite sides of the body such, forexample, as is shown in Letters Patent No. 1,122,108 datedlDecember 22,1914, and designated in 'the trade as a 2 fold. Referring to Figs. 5, 6 and 7, the former therein com prises in addition to the bottom plate moverhanging side plates 4b leaving a, gap ic between I them. Within the space betweenthe plate 4a and the plates 4b is arranged aloose plate 4d about the' edges of which the flaps of the folded towel are bent during their longitudinal travel through the former. This'loose plate 403 is provided with a rib 46 extending upwardly through the space and rests againstan overhanging arm 4f. The forward end of the loose plate Ad is tapered so as to permit the free travelling of the paper web 0 through the former. Before the paper web is folded, the embossing of the trade rnark is performed upon the middle ofw the body portion by the embossing and creasing rolls 3 and 2 i.*By performing this embossing feature in advance of the action of the former 4, the side flaps may be of a width which allows them to almost meet, whereas if the embossing, rolls performed their function after the tabs are folded,

it'would bemore desirable "to provide the flaps 'of less width so that the embossing of thepaper could take placeupon the body between the location' of the tabs but I do not restrict yself-m this respect.

' As it is desirable to hold or delay the succeeding package in entering thechamber I5 until full compression is reached, this is done by providing ltwo hold-back fingers I8 spring, pressed against the towel package while it is being compressedto a position within the compression chamber I5, the object being to quickly advance the hold-back fingers under action of spring I. to meet a succeeding ,packageand then provide by'the spring a gradually increasing resistance to the compres- In-this'manner, the towels are under a,sub-' stantially. continual compression during preparation Of'thdPELCk for thecartom'and under full compression when the carton is packed.

The means for controlling the operation of the hold-back fingers I 8 is such that the normal pressure exerted by the spring I8 a through hold-back fingers upon' the towels, namely, at atime when the towel assemblage is being delivered between the loading blades I5 and prior to the operation'of the ejector device I5 is temporarily removed. To accomplish this, the rod I8b which is actuated by the spring I8a. in one direction is caused to be moved in the otherdirection (with a compression of the spring I8a and removal of the spring pressure upon the towels) by means of a cam I rotated by a shaft and sprocket wheel I8d, said cam operating upon a. shoulder I8e forming a part of the said rod I8b. The parts I8d are chain geared with the carrier chain I9 and,.therefore, the action of the cam I8d is in timed relation to the towel assemblage means.

To enable the finished towels to freely pass into the propellers and down to the supporting and travelling floor compressed in the carrier chain, I provide a suitable jogging means which may jog or jar the propellers to prevent clogging of the descending towel. For this purpose, I provide a jogging cam wheel 21, positively rotated and imparting successive jars or blows during the operation of the machine. It is immaterial how the rotating of the jarring cam is provided.

As before pointed out, the assemblage of one hundred and fifty towels is assumed to form a package which, while under pressure, is introducedintoa carton for commercial exploitation. It is a function of my improved machine to automatically insure this predetermined quantity or 'number of towels to be assembled and constitute the package of commerce, and as a secondary result, to count as it were the number of towels packed in each carton and the number of cartons so packed. Each revolution of the worm-like propellers feeds three towels. Thus, one thousand packed cartons would mean one hundred and fifty thousand towels; and as the number of towels is a multiple of the number of cartons packed, these figures may be registered upon a registing device of any ordinary construction, either in terms of the number of cartons packed or in terms of the number of towels packed.

In addition to the jogging cam'ZI, there is preferably attached on opposite sides of it two cam portions pressed upon the upper 'end of the towels which are standing in a vertical position .between the propellers; and the object of bending the upper end of the towel to one side in the direction of its movement is to prevent any obstruction under thenext descending set of towels, as will be clearly understood by reference to Fig. 8. This permits the release of the descending towel sets from the cutters for a quick delivery into the propelling means and without any interference between the successive'towels. In Fig. 11, I show some special features of my improved propeller construction and more parpellers, which improvements are more specifically described as follows: The receiving blades of wide pitch I ID are formed about a tubular hub portion I Ig, the said hub portionsleevecl'upon the spindle I I h of the propeller as a whole, and at its delivery end it is provided with circumferentially arranged ratchet teeth I lie which engage ratchet teeth IIm on the receiving'ends of the blades I Id of the propeller. A coil spring I I7 is arranged within the tubular core I Ig and, operates between the collar IIi and a shoulder on thecore which causes the'ratchet teeth IIk and IIm to yieldingly engage in such manner that the rotation of' the propeller during the feeding action will cause the core of the wide pitch blades to rotate with the blades I la but which will permit relative circumferential adjustment of the blades Ilb relatively to the blades IIa, so as to adjust the blades of the adjacent parts relatively to each other. It will be seen that the hub I Ig having'the wide pitch blades IIb may be'adjusted for any circumferential position desired.

It will now be apparent that I have devised a novel and useful construction of apparatus and method of operation thereof which embodies the features of advantage enumerated as desirable,

' and while I have in the present instance shown and described the preferred embodiment thereof which has been found in practice to: give satisfactory and reliable results, it is tobe understood that I do not restrict myself to the details as the same are susceptible of modification in various particulars, without departing from the spirit or scope of the invention. 7

I claim:

1. In a machine of the character stated, means for receiving flat-shaped articles in succession and feeding them transversely to the plane of their surface, said means consisting of a plurality of rotating helically grooved worm-like propellers arranged in pairs in parallel relation and with the grooves of each pair of propellers respectively made right and left handed, thepitch of the grooves being normal for thegreater party of the length of said worm-like propellers and of a pronounced increase in pitch at the receiving ends thereof for accurately receiving the articles and rapidly transferring them to the grooves of normal pitch, and wherein further, compresser means is provided at the delivery end of the worm-like propellers for compressing a plurality of the paper articlesinto a controlled assemblage, and ejector means for delivering the compressed assemblage of paper articles whereby it may be received in compressed form within a carton.

2. In a machine of the character stated, means for receiving fiat-shaped articles in succession and feeding them transversely to the plane of their surface, said means consisting of a plurality of rotating helically grooved worm-like propellers arranged in pairs in parallel relation and with the grooves of each pair of propellers respectively made right and left handed, the pitch of the grooves being normal for the greater part of the length of said worm-like propellers and of a pronounced increase in pitch at the receiving ends thereof for accurately receiving the articles and rapidly transferring them to the grooves of normal pitch, and wherein further, the pitch of the helical grooves are increased at the delivery end of the worm-like propellers, and whereinalso spreading means are provided for spreading two adjacent paper articles after they leave the custody of the helical blades and grooves of the propellers, and there is also provided a compressor means arranged to be introduced between the separated articles whereby compression may be applied to said articles on one side of said compresser means.

3. In a machine of the character stated, means for receiving downwardly moving paper articles and feeding them horizontally in spaced relation out of contact but side-by side to provide apredetermined assemblage, compresser means for compressing the said assemblage of paper articles into tight contacting relation, spring actuated hold-back means for receiving the pressure of the assemblage of paper articles under the compression of the compresser means, and means for transferring the compressed assemblage of paper articles into a carton. c

4. The invention accordingto claim 3, wherein further, the position of the hold-back means is shifted during the compression of the paper articles in their assembled condition and bodily movement toward the hold-back means.

5. In a machine of the character stated, means for receiving and feeding a plurality of flat arti-' conjoint action of the grooves of the several worm-like propellers, combined with spreading means movable longitudinally of the propellers and arranged to spread two adjacent articles apart after they leave the custody of the helical grooves of the propellers, compressor means arranged to be introduced between the separated articles whereby compression may be applied to said articles on one side of the compresser means, a pivoted loader device for receiving the conpressed assemblage of articles, pusher means for pushing the compressed assemblage of articles into the loader, oscillating means for swinging the loader device into an oblique position to receive a carton, and ejector means for unloading the contents of the loader device into the carton.

6. ,In a machine of the character stated, means for receiving and feeding a plurality of fiat articles arrangedside by side, consisting of a plurality of worm-like propellers whose normal helical grooves are the same and said propellers arranged in two parallel sets facing each other in right and left hand relation, the pitch of the helical grooves being increased at the delivery end of the propellers whereby a flat article is simultaneously received in and moved by the conjoint action of the grooves of the several worm-like propellers, combined with spreading means movable longitudinally of the propellers and arranged to spread two adjacent articles apart after they leave the custody of the helical grooves of the propellers.

7. In a machine of the character stated, the combination of rotary worm-like propellers for feeding a plurality of flat articles side by side, compresser means for compressing said flat articles into anassembled pack, means for controlling the number of articles to constitute the pack,

means for delivering the pack so formed intoa loading device comprising guiding plates between which the pack is received, and ejector means for ejecting the assembled pack of articles into a carton.

1 PHILIP D. PARSONS. 

